


The Kill Order

by userBLU030424



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Blood and Violence, Canon Divergence, Character Death, Depictions of depression, Emotional Hurt, F/F, F/M, Gen, Infected She-ra, Let Catra (She-Ra) Say Fuck, Manipulation, One Shot, angry adora, angsty, enjoy the angst fest, glimmer is not nice, hint of fluff, im sorry, its actually pretty bloody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/userBLU030424/pseuds/userBLU030424
Summary: Catra has become more and more of a threat to the Rebellion, prompting Queen Angella to issue a kill order for the Force Captain, demanding it'd be She-Ra who kills her.ORAdora doesn't want to kill Catra so Glimmer decides to take things into her own hands, dragging Bow with her.(all spelling and grammatical mistakes are mine)
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 190





	The Kill Order

**Author's Note:**

> This idea was developed in a twitter gc simply because i like making my oomfs hurt. (collab with @baechuist, she drew some fanart) First fic ever, I haven't written in a while but I hope it's enjoyable :) 
> 
> my username on twitter is @theblindadoptee (new spop friends would be nice) 
> 
> please leave comments or any critic, i'm looking at improving my writing skills so anything is helpful  
> Highly Recommend you listen to ilomilo by Billie Eilish towards the end.

The war room was plunged into a deafening silence. Everything was at a stand still, the wind as unmoving as the murals which towered over the small group and the queen. 

“A- A what?” 

Glimmer had never heard Adora’s voice sound like...like _that_ before. So...quiet. Unbelieving.  
Queen Angella cleared her throat and casted a worried look towards her daughter, as if to ask if she should continue. The later pathetically shrugged and shook her head somberly. 

“A kill order Adora. We cannot...afford to let the current Force Captain climb the ranks any higher than they already have.” Angella answered. 

“So-” Her voice broke. Tension sat heavily on the chests and throats of the participants of the impromptu meeting. Both Glimmer and Bow were uncomfortably perched on the edges of their sits, anxiety clawing every inch of their bodies.

The blonde girl, who usually sat so tall and determined, looked small. Uncomfortable. Hurt, confused. When she spoke up again, the uncertainty that laced her voice painted her a stranger to those around her. 

“So you want She-Ra to...what? _Kill_ Catra?” 

Adora looked up and met Angella’s dark gaze. She searched. She searched for what felt like to be an entire decade. She searched for a trace of doubt in the smallest hints of lavender purple. She had even hoped to find guilt. What she got instead was unwavering determination. She looked longer. Harder. 

She found pity. 

* * * 

With her head under the covers, she could almost make them disappear. The footsteps. Two sets, every morning without fail. A small, barely audible knock was swiftly followed by mumbling. She groaned. 

“Adora, it’s us. We’re coming in.” 

She heard the doorknob twist open and the footsteps, always the same ones, grew louder. More distinct. She buried herself deeper into her sheets. 

“Adora it’s been weeks,” Glimmer whispered, a minuscule trace of annoyance hidden behind the overwhelming worry, “in a few days you would have spent almost three months in your room. You need to get out.” 

She felt weight settle at the foot of her bed, a hand tentatively landing on her calf. She flinched. The hand disappeared. 

“I do go out Glimmer. We’re still still at war, remember? We fought robots two weeks ago.” Adora poked her head out, lazily setting her eyes on her two best friends when a response failed to come. The latter were communicating with their eyes again, giving her an opportunity to study them.

They both looked tired. Exhausted even. Adora shifted in her bed, stretching her legs and prompting herself on her elbows so she could see them better: Bow looked pale, skinnier than she last remembered him. His eyes were still lively, although this time they sported a heavy look of pure panic and disapproval. Glimmer, on the other hand, looked about ready to explode. Her look shone of stubborn determination, her facial expression set in stone. It reminded Adora of Angella. She shuddered, settling herself back into the bed. 

“And why can’t I? Huh?! Let me-” 

“No. Let me.” Bow interrupted her. His hand was raised to her face, his posture rigid. Glimmer scowled but kept her mouth shut. Once sure she wasn’t going to say anything, Bow nervously turned back to Adora and regarded her with sympathy.

“Adora,” he shuffled cautiously towards the edge of the bed, sitting down, “you’ve been hulled up in your room for weeks. We’re worried about you.”

“What is there to worry about?” Adora asked. She had her back turned to both of them, unable to see their fugitive glances hastily thrown towards each other. Glimmer carried on. 

“Look, I know things have been less than ideal with my...mom,” she paused, “but you seriously need to get out more! And eat too for goodness sake! Right Bow?” 

Bow nodded furiously, encouraging Glimmer to go on. 

“I mean look at you! You’ve lost weight and you’re more sloppy in the battlefield! How are you supposed to carry the kill or-” 

Adora froze, her mind barely registering what Glimmer had almost said. She leisurely pushed the covers off her body and sat crossed legged in the middle of the mattress. She caught a glimpse of Bow’s face, his features painfully etched into a wince. When her line of sight had focused on Glimmer, she let a few seconds tick by. 

“What did you say?” 

Glimmer, who had gotten up during her little spiel, now stood motionless. Her eyes were open wide, a rare look of terror flashing before guilt swallowed her irises whole. Her arms, which were raised above her head, lowered before they hung limply around her frame. 

“I-Adora, not like-” 

“No. What did you say?” 

Glimmer dropped her head down and fixed her eyes on the floor. Her shoulders were hunched over, screaming defeat and bone crushing culpability. Taking a deep breath, she looked up again, staring intently into Adora’s eyes. 

“I asked you how you were supposed to carry the kill order,” she murmured. 

The vast room was quiet, the only sound coming from the nearby fountain. Bow whimpered lightgly, looking back and forth between Adora and Glimmer, knowing the situation was bound to end up a disaster. 

Adora looked at Glimmer, dumbfounded, to look back at Bow expecting him to be as surprised and repulsed as she was. He wasn’t. She then looked down at her hands and sat there, mouth hung slightly open in bitter surprise. 

She chuckled. _They- wow, they’re joking right? They...they have to be_. She gazed back at her friends, now standing right in front of her, concern written all over their features. Adora forced out another laugh, letting it linger longer than it should, praying to whichever god would hear that they’d catch on and laugh with her, poke fun at her for missing their joke. _Right?_

“A-Adora, are you feeling alright?” Bow peeked back at Glimmer. She shrugged. 

_They’re not joking_ . Adora’s face fell slack in horror. _They’re not joking? No, no. Bow at least would be joking. Right? RIGHT??_ She looked back at the boy in question and found no rumor nor hint of humor in the dimmed glint of his eye, the downturned curve of his mouth telling her all she needed to know. 

“You guys are serious?” 

“Adora, what do you mean serio-”

“You both expect me to kill Catra too?” 

Bow nervously shifted around, a small noise of distress escaping his mouth. Glimmer, ever the stubborn one, took a few seconds to steel herself and stared Adora down. 

“Yes. We do. The kill order is a non-negotiable command from the Queen herself.” Glimmer sighed, intending to rest her hand on Adora’s shoulder before the latter forcibly jerked back, disgust seeping through her pores. She huffed. “Adora, what did you expect? To just stay here and ignore direct orders from my mom? Your superior, to whom you pledge your allegiance to?” 

“If you haven’t noticed, _princess_ , I’ve done it before and I can do it again,” the blonde said with as much venom as she could muster. She had stood up and set her feet firmly on the floor, letting the bed stand in between her and Glimmer. Bow squeaked, quickly interrupting the shorter girl. 

“Ladies! Ladies!” His voice cracked. “Why don’t we all calm down and talk this out?”

Adora gaped at him in utter disbelief. 

“You want to _talk_? Sit down over a coffee as we discuss Catra’s _death_?” 

Bow had visibly shrunk back, taking a few steps backwards as tears welled in his eyes. Glimmer was still standing opposite to her, face torn between frustration and pity. 

“Did you guys even take a single _minute_ to think about what Angella is askin- no, _demanding_ of me?” Adora gave a pointed look to Glimmer as she emphasized the word demand. She knew it wasn’t her fault, that all things considered, even the princess couldn’t change her mother’s decision. Still. She had expected and even waited for Adora to get up one day and take Catra’s life. As if it meant nothing.

“Adora! Of course we thought abou-” 

“NO YOU DID NOT.” 

Bow winced. Glimmer stayed frozen in place. This was the first time they’ve heard their friend scream.

“HOW CAN YOU TELL ME YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT IT? THOUGHT ABOUT IT?” Adora paced, her voice getting louder by the second. She had faith, and was persuaded a few hours prior that they, of all people, would understand how cruel Angella’s orders were. The bitter taste of her mistake lingered at the back of her tongue. 

“Catra-” she cleared her throat, fighting to keep her own tears at bay. “Catra is my best friend.” She glanced back, as expected, found Glimmer moments away from commenting on her statement. “No Glimmer. You need to understand. Catra and I grew up together.” She briefly gestured between the two bodies across from her, “Exactly like the both of you.” 

Adora sat back on the bed, all the energy she had felt coursing through her veins moments earlier suddenly drained. With her back to Bow and Glimmer again, she continued: “We’d train together, comfort each other when Shadow Weaver was being particularly difficult…” A chill ran down her spine. “We- we’d stay up, making up stories about how one day we’d stand above Weaver and Hordak. Promised each other that we'd stick together, no matter what.” She laughed darkly, “I already broke that promise.” 

She leaned down, putting her head between her knees. Tears threatened to spill any moment now, and she was surprised her body could still do that after endless hours of literal rivers streaming down her cheeks. Straightening herself back up, her limbs felt heavy, maybe almost foreign. She lowered her head into her hands, sighing deeply. 

“Please,” she begged, voice wavering, “I can’t kil-” 

Adora heard the faint sound of hesitant feet shuffling towards her. She held a hand up asking them to stop, before she glanced back at the pair and offered them a weak smile, full of pain and regret. 

“I can’t.” 

* * *

“Glimmer we can’t do this. We can’t just decide for her! Especially after that...that talk we had. Glimmer please.” Bow pleaded. The duo had made their way a few feet away from Adora’s door, doing their best to keep their voices low. 

“Bow! Stop it, I know! We talked about this so many times we can’t back out now. Adora doesn’t want to follow the kill order. We can’t- we can’t just let my mom exile her.” 

“But she said she was ready to leave if she had to. We can’t take away one of the most important decisio-” 

Glimmer cut him off, shushing him vehemently before dragging him into a dark corner. Guards patrolled the hall, unaware of their presence and sharing friendly pleasantries. As soon as they were out of sight, Glimmer spoke up. 

“Bow. You and I, and practically the entire kingdom cannot win the war without She-Ra. Adora has also become one of our closest friends. I can’t- we can’t let her go like that…” They stood in the eerie silence of the corridor, taking a few seconds to think over their plan. Bow sighed.

“Okay. Let’s do this. Besides, Entrapta already gave us the First One’s crystal and the remote.” 

Glimmer glanced back at her childhood friend. His face was set into a stony expression she was glad she never got to see that often. She nodded, slowly, before she teleported, a rain of sparkles left where she once stood.

Bow awkwardly walked towards Adora’s door, guilt and dread weighing on his shoulders with every step he took. 

He wondered, again, if this was really the best for Adora. The little outburst she had had a few days prior had put a lot into perspective for him. Never had he really noticed how much Adora cared about Catra, never bothered to take the time and think about just what and who Adora had left behind when she decided to join the Rebellion. Sure, she had mentioned Catra before, plenty of times, but only ever to tell them she could tip her over to their side or how dangerously clever she was. Naturally, the Princess Alliance had paid more attention to and put greater emphasis on the threat Catra really was, tuning out the (almost) sickeningly hopeful tone Adora used whenever she talked about getting her back. 

Before he could go any further with his thoughts, Glimmer suddenly reappeared a few feet away, a single remote left in her right hand. She walked over to Bow, confirming everything had gone smoothly. 

“I tested the remote and crystal. It works perfectly fine, exactly like when we were in Dryl. As soon as we press the button, the crystal activates and corrupts the sword. When we press the button again, it deactivates but in case of any emergency, Entrapta built a self destruct button too.” 

Bow simply nodded, unsure whether he’d be able to say anything without bursting into tears. Sensing something was off, Glimmer tenderly grabbed his waist and hugged him tight. 

“I- I know this is difficult and nauseating really, but we had to.” She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at his face and eyes. “Now, she’ll be able to...kill Catra without doing it herself. She-ra will be in complete control.” Bow nodded, once. 

They stood with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, desperately trying to come to terms with what they had done and were about to do. 

“She’s never going to forgive us, you know? After she regains consciousness, we tell her about it.” Bow whispered into Glimmer’s hair. She sighed. 

“We talked about this too,” her voice sounded muffled, a little distanced, “we tell her someone else did it. Simple.” 

“Are we doing the right thing?” Bow mumbled. This time, Glimmer fully extracted herself from the embrace and turned to walk back to her room. She tentatively reached her hand out to his, gesturing for him to take it.  


“Let’s hope we are.” 

* * *

Glimmer walked closely to Bow, keeping a safe distance between them and the blonde as they walked towards Perfumia’s quarters in Plumeria. Earlier that morning, they had received a distress signal from the flower girl, reporting a sighting of a Horde army slowly approaching the village. They had gathered in the room, deciding they’d meet them halfway and fight away from the settlement, avoiding as much damage as they could. Adora, as usual, hadn’t shown up. She had made it very clear that she wanted to be nowhere near the war room or the queen, trusting her friends to debrief her if they needed her. 

“How was she when you went to get her earlier?” Bow kept his eyes in front him, putting effort into not drawing any unwanted attention towards them. 

“She was...quiet. Not expressive at all. She just put her jacket and boots on and followed.” 

Silence fell between them, the muffled sound of their feet in the thick grass being their only distraction. Glimmer knew Bow really wanted to ask her the question but she knew how much he tried not to sound too nervous or unsure about their plans around her anymore. As much as she strongly appreciated the feeling, it made their dynamic and interaction uncomfortably tense. 

“She didn’t say anything about the sword Bow. We’re still in the clear.” 

The boy didn’t say anything, simply nodded his head. He did that a lot these days. Glimmer pushed on. 

“If we’re lucky enough, Catra might be coming with the army they saw and we won’t have to deal with the stress anymore.” 

“Won’t...won’t have to deal with the _stress_?” Bow’s mask of forced neutrality had flipped, giving way to the ugly frown of disgust. “Glimmer we’re _manipulating_ Adora into killing her lifelong _best friend_ and you want to view that as the end of _our stress_??” 

“Bow! Keep it down! You know I didn’t mean like tha-” 

“Keep it to yourself. I’m going to walk ahead.” 

Before Glimmer could come up with any sort of response, the guard that had been guiding them stopped in front of a large circular tent, Adora patiently standing next to him waiting for the pair to make it to them. The blonde cocked a curious eyebrow at the distance between the princess and the archer. 

When they had all gathered at the entrance, the guard bowed slightly and left, wishing them good. As soon as they stepped inside, a flurry of dirty blonde pulled them all together into a group hug. 

“You guys! You all came! And at such a small notice too. It is so good to have you here.” Perfuma said, letting them go with a warm and welcoming smile. When she noticed the silence and tension between the small group, her expression fell, a look of worry and confusion taking over the glint in her eyes and curve of her mouth. Bow stepped in before she could make a comment, pleading with his eyes that she won’t mention anything. 

“We did our best to get here as fast as we could Perfuma.” Bow casted nervous glances behind him, to his two best friends. Turning back to the flower princess, he asked, “What’s the plan? Have you identified what or who is marching towards us?”

They were all offered to sit down on the low table, Perfuma taking a deep breath before she answered. 

“Robots and a few soldiers. All of them wore helmets except for two. We haven’t gotten wind of their names yet but one is big with platinum white hair and the other smaller with super big hair.” 

Glimmer and Bow abruptly looked back to Adora, waiting for her reaction. Their friend's face was as white as a fresh coat of snow, the purest look of dread painted over her eyes. She spoke up first. 

“What- what do you mean really big hair? Did she have a tail? Ears?” 

Perfuma’s worried gaze intensified, scrutinizing Bow for an answer. The boy whimpered, shaking his head. 

“Uhhh yeah. Yeah I think she had a tail. Why does that matt-” 

Before the princess had finished her answer, Adora rushed out of the tent, speeding head on toward the army. The small group she left behind sat mouths agape, unsure of what had just happened. 

* * *

Adora was familiar with stress. She was familiar with fear, with sprints. She was familiar with a lot, if not all the emotions that ran rampant inside of herself. She was especially familiar to the sense of duty and never before had it rung as loud as it was today. 

Catra couldn’t be here. No, she was walking right into her last day of _life_ if Adora couldn’t get to her first. So the blonde ran. She bolted through the eerie village, the silence around her the loudest she’s ever heard it. She _had_ to get to her first. She couldn’t let Glimmer or anyone from the Rebellion carry out the kill order for her. She didn’t care if it meant she would have to leave. Didn’t care if she lost absolutely everything. None of the things she had now would matter if Catra was gone. 

The sword landed heavily on her back with each step she took, her feet landing with definitive thuds on the ground. She was going fast, but not fast enough. Adora paused for a brief moment, drawing her sword before she screamed into nothing ‘For the Honor of Grayskull.’ She always felt the shift. How her body became taller, stronger. More powerful. She-Ra emerged from her blazing halo of light, dashing once again towards the Horde’s army. She could make it. She _will_ make it. 

She had to. 

* * *

“BOW LET’S GO RIGHT NOW.” Glimmer shouted. Panic was all she felt. What if Catra escapes? What if this was the last time they would see Adora? She said she would _leave_ if it meant keeping Catra alive. The thoughts spurred her on and she tugged with Bow’s arm with startling force. 

“Glimmer we can’t do this! Let her go! She’ll come back, she has to! We can’t do this, please.” 

Perfuma stood frozen, equally terrified and uncertain of what was unfolding before her. 

“Bow, Glimmer,” she pleaded, “please tell me what’s going on. Why did Adora go? Why does a Horde soldier affect her so much? Isn’t she loyal to us?” 

Her question flew past the gripling bodies across from her, unheard. 

“GLIMMER I AM NOT DOING THIS. I AM NOT COMING WITH YOU.” 

The princess stopped, a look of betrayal flashing on her features. She scowled.  
“Be like that then, see if I won’t take you with me anyway.” 

“Glimmer wh-” 

They vanished, a light sprinkle of glitter replacing them. Perfuma slowly sat down, shock too intense for her to even make sense of this unexpected turn of events. 

* * *

Adora heard them before she saw them. She ran a little faster, coming to the top of the small hill that rose between the village and the army. At first, no one saw her. She scanned the plain, trying to find any indication of Catra’s whereabouts. 

She-Ra was big. Shiny. It was very hard for anyone not to notice her. Slowly, eyes and machines alike turned to the seven foot tall women who towered over them. Conversation and laughter dimmed into nothing, a split second passed in which no one seemed to move nor react. Then it happened. 

Far, but not that far away, Glimmer howled Adora’s name. The blonde, snapped out of her reverie, looked back, a brand new wave of fear and determination crashing over her. When she looked back towards the enemy’s camp, everyone was moving, no longer trapped in their surprise. Adora huffed, annoyed and took off. 

She was by the tents in seconds, grabbing the first Horde soldier she could, lifting them to her face. The others had created a hesitant circle around the giant, fearful of the power and strength that exuded off of her. 

“Where. Is. Catra.” She-Ra growled, a deep rumble coming from the deepest parts of her chest. The soldier she had in hand trembled, and tried to answer, but their mask muffled what they had said. 

Impatient, She-Ra simply took her other hand, taking the helmet off and tossing it away. 

“Where is she?”

“In the tent at the very edge of- of the camp.” 

Letting the Horde soldier fall back to the ground, she unceremoniously jumped over the small group that had formed around her. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she darted towards the ten furthest from the rest, unknowing of what she would do exactly when she saw Catra. 

The latter however, had emerged from the tent, a deep snarl painting her features. Adora felt a jolt of bittersweet nostalgia and pain hit her. She paid it no mind. Taking advantage that Catra hadn’t noticed her just yet, she precipitated her strands until the Force Captain finally turned to her. Bewilderment, anger and fear all coursed through her bicolored in a quick succession. 

“Adora?” 

Despite herself, Adora grinned. _I missed her_. 

Swooping the catgirl smoothly over her shoulder, She-Ra redirected herself and quickly left for the Whispering woods. 

* * *

“Glimmer! You can’t just _abduct_ me whenever I don’t want to go with you!” 

“I understand that and I’m sorry but you weren’t _listening_ to me.” 

Glimmer had teleported them right onto the cliff, quickly lying flat on the ground to avoid being spotted. Bow was on the other side of her, indignination lacing all his words. 

“We agreed to do this _together Bow_. You promised you wouldn’t bail out on me.” 

“We’re talking about becoming literal _murderers_.” 

“AND YOU THINK I DON-” Bow jumped on her, quickly covering her mouth with his hand, rolling them over so he could rest on his back. Once she had calmed down and they were sure none of the Horde soldiers had heard them, Glimmer continued. 

“I know what we’re doing. What we’ll become and quite frankly it makes me want to puke. But we need to remember what we’re doing this for.” Pushing herself off of Bow, she sat up next to him and looked him in the eye. “We’re at _war_. Thousands and thousands of lives are in danger. Before Adora, _She-Ra_ , came to help we were _losing_. We can’t let her go Bow. We can’t. Lives are at stakes. Our lives along with our family’s and friends’ are too. If the death of one person can save those lives, I’m willing to go for it. No matter what.” 

Glimmer watched as the fight drained from Bow’s limbs, instead replaced by what looked like immense fatigue and _weight_. 

“Do you know where they are?” 

The princess shot Bow a sympathetic smile, telling him things would be okay in the end. They were doing a good thing. This was a good thing. When the boy didn’t answer her, she looked down to her hands, silent for a moment as well. 

Taking a deep breath, Glimmer explained to Bow that Entrapta had installed a tracking device on the First One’s crystal chip. 

“Let’s go.” 

* * *

Catra didn’t take very long to start using her claws. She struggled and fought and scratched and screamed at Adora to let her go, demanding to know why she was being taken away, what or who they were running from.

Adora, too focused on finding a particular clearing, kept her mouth shut, prompting the catgirl to scratch her harder. Thankfully, being She-Ra and having waves of adrenaline crashing through her body every other minute kept the pain from the claws away. Adora knew she would probably need stitches and have the scars remain for years. She didn’t care. Deep down, maybe she was glad even. They would be reminders of Catra. She doubted strongly that she'd ever see her best friend again after this day. 

Arriving at a clearing, She-Ra slowed her pace to a jog. A large rock was situated at the very edge and she walked towards it, mentally preparing herself for what and how she would inform Catra of the situation. The latter was still kicking, although a lot less than before, noticing Adora wasn’t running anymore. 

When the Princess reached the rock, she slowly dislodged Catra from her shoulder, careful to grab her wrists before she could try anything. Lifting the catgirl up, again, careful not to hurt her in any way, Adora pinned her wrists to the smooth edges of the stone. 

“Adora. What in the FUCK do you think you’re doing?” Catra hissed, her mismatched irises glared at her with an intensity she forgot existed. 

“Catra, listen to me. You need to disappear. Leave. Run. Fly for all I care. Whatever it is, you need to go far away from here.” 

* * *

“I told you we’d find them.” Glimmer pushed against the bushes, keeping her noise levels as low as possible as she remembered Adora casually informing her that Catra had a keen sense of hearing, capable of hearing things most or all humans could not. 

Bow made his way over to her, not saying a word. Adora had transformed into She-Ra, pinning a very, very angry Catra on the rock. Adora sounded frustrated but Catra...Catra was _furious_. 

“Do we press the button now?” Bow asked, pain evident in his tone as he looked away from the argument. 

“Yeah.” 

Removing the small remote that she had hung around her neck and hidden inside her shirt, Glimmer brought it out and held it between Bow and herself. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, trying not to think of what was about to happen. 

She felt a warm hand settle on hers, guiding her towards the small switch. She looked at Bow who was already looking at her, understanding staining the pain that shone in his eyes merely a few seconds ago. 

Placing both their thumbs on the small switch, they paused. 

“We’re doing the right thing. Right? This is for Etheria,” Bow asked for last time. 

“For Etheria.” 

They flipped it. 

* * *

Too busy arguing with each other, Catra and Adora failed to notice the rapidly growing red vines on the sword’s gem. They continued to bicker before Adora dropped her grip on Catra’s wrists, resulting in the Horde official falling. 

“WHAT THE FUCK ADORA? WOULDN’T KILL YOU TO- to...Adora?” Catra looked up at the other girl, now clutching her head, barely holding her screams in. 

Adora looked up to see Catra’s worried gaze focused on her slouched form. She tried to speak, tried to tell her she would be fine, however only screams left her body as seering white pain seemed to be splitting her head in two. 

“Adora! Adora what’s going on? What’s happening?” 

The blonde, vision blurring, zeroed on Catra’s eyes again. She never expected to see those eyes hold genuine terror today. She didn’t like it. Catra spoke to her again, but all she could hear was an overwhelming ringing deafening her. So she smiled instead. Smiled and hoped that the curve of her mouth would be more reassuring than anything else. She smiled, her last thought being that she hadn’t seen Catra’s smile in a while. _That is such a shame_. _It’d be a miracle if I ever see that again_. 

Adora could feel herself slip, consciousness letting way for a sea colored as dark as obsidian engulf her whole. _Yeah_ , she thought, _it would be nice to see her smile at me one last time_.

* * *

Glimmer and Bow were shocked still, before they heard one last pained scream from She-Ra and a red wave of light and force blinded them. Everything was sinisterly still, as if waiting for a command to breathe again. 

Then She-Ra chuckled. Lowly. It wasn’t pleasant like it usually was nor dorky in an Adora kind of way. It ran chills down Glimmer’s back and forced shudders out of Bow. Casting a glance at each other, they turned their gaze back to the clearing and blanched. 

Catra was slowly backing up, calling Adora’s name desperately, nervously. She-Ra stood back up, proud on her 7 feet of height, a cocky but bloodthirsty grin etched across her face. Her eyes glowed, a deep crimson red which matched the vines from the crystal and the veins in her arms. 

She-Ra raised the sword above her head, the first swing almost invisible to those who watched. 

* * * 

Adora was falling. Or at least she thought so. It felt like it. She couldn’t see though. Only feel. And she felt light. Strangely enough, she wasn’t even scared. She just sunk or dropped deeper and deeper into this abyss that felt like home. That felt like the darkest nights in the Horde, when she’d sleep with her head nozzled in the crook of catra’s soft neck. 

* * *

“Glimmer what are we doing? What is this? How are we sitting through this...this bloodbath and not doing anything about it?” 

Catra was running out of energy, running out of tricks, running out of options. She was still screaming. Yelling at the top of her lungs for Adora to stop. Perhaps that was what made it even worse, save for the blood that splattered on the ground to form flower-like shapes. 

* * *

Adora’s back hit the ground, hard. Her breath got knocked right out of her lungs, forcing her eyes closed. She could see light behind her closed eyelids, indistinct voices caressing her ears. 

“Hey, Adora, it’s time to wake up now dumbass.” 

Her eyes snapped open, wincing from the sudden brightness that surrounded her. She could feel the coldness of the floor seep through her tank up and shivered. Suddenly, warm breath caressed her cheeks and nose, a soft hand landing affectionately on her cheekbone. Adora carefully opened her eyes to meet another pair staring right back at her. 

“Catra?” 

The latter smiled, a pointy fang catching the corner of her bottom lip. 

“Hey Adora.” 

________________________

Her entire day had been strange, but it was the most fun and happiness she’d felt in months. After Catra had woken her up, they had spent time together talking, bantering joyfully. At some point, when she was still chuckling at another one’s on Catra’s dumb jokes, the cat girl looked at her with a strange hint of sadness in her eyes. 

“Told you not to worry. But maybe that’s a lie.” 

Adora gradually stopped laughing, confused, “What?” 

Catra had brushed it off, leaving the bed and turning back to offer her a hand.  
“Let’s go get breakfast.” 

After the strange remark, Catra hadn’t said anything particularly weird or unfounded. Instead, they had what Adora would describe as the best day of her entire life. After their breakfast, they had gone out on a stroll, a summer breeze plastering their clothes against their skin. There they had talked again, but Adora’s eyes...Adora’s eyes brought her images she never wanted to see. 

The first time her eyes fooled her, they had just come across a small lake hidden by the tall grass that surrounded them. 

Adora grinned, “We should totally swim.” 

And they did. Sort of. Catra had fought but she was no match for Adora’s strength once she had caught up. She lifted Catra up by the waist, carefully treading into the water before she slammed them both into it. 

As soon as Adora’s face broke the surfaces, screams, Catra’s, invaded her ears. She tried to get out of the water but something held her down. She struggled against the mysterious force, her shouts lost in the dark of the water.

And then she saw things. She saw her hand clutching a bloody sword, and Catra’s eyes, wide open in an expression of utter disbelief and dread. 

Adora was forcibly yanked out of the water by a more pleasant sight of Catra. 

“Hey, are you okay?” 

“Yeah no, no I’m fine. I just- I don’t know, I saw some weird stuff back there. BUT I’m sure it was just a trick of the mind. I’m fine.” 

Catra shrugged, taking her hand and guiding them back to dry land. 

“You ever pull something like that on me again Adora, and you’ll be sure to be missing an eye.” 

Thus their day continued, filled with small but meaningful and fun adventures for them both. Adora kept having the disturbing thoughts, kept hearing the screams, the begging, and kept seeing the blood. Everywhere. Her hands, the grass, a rock? She tried her best to ignore them, Catra always jumping to her rescue and distracting her with another story or suggestion for a place they could go explore. 

* * *

“Bow stop! Stop it! Just don’t watch okay? We can’t go back now.” 

“Yes we can! Just press the button Glimmer, _look at her_. Catra can’t even run away properly without her leg gushing out buckets of blood. _Please_.” 

“No.” 

Rolling on the floor, trying to remain undetected by the new She-Ra, Bow wrestled the switch out of Glimmer’s hands. Getting up as soon as he had it in his possession, he flipped the switch off. Turning back to the clearing, he expected to see She-Ra collapse, go back to Adora, something, _anything_. 

“Glimmer. Didn’t you say this was the off switch? WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING??” 

* * *

Adora lowered herself into the bed, drawing the blankets over her hips. Putting her hands behind her head, she patiently waited for Catra to come back. Smiling softly at the thought of the brunette, Adora closed her eyes.

_‘WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING??’_

__

__

_Blood, blood, more blood. Catra was propped up against a large rock, barely conscious._

Sucking in a gulp of air, Adora sat up on the soft mattress. She pushed her back against the headboard, calming her breathing. She stayed like that for several minutes, until she felt a thick liquid flow slowly under the fingers she had dug into the mattress. Lifting her hand up, the darkness of the room made it hard to make out anything. Bringing her fingers closer to her face, she smelled a strong scent of copper. Her heart dropped. _Ha, no this is just a joke, Catra’s probably trying to trick me_. Curious nonetheless, she brought the tip of her tongue and licked her finger. _Fuck_. 

“Hey Catra, do you, by any chance, happen to know why your side of the bed is soaked in...in blood?” 

Receiving no answer, Adora stood up to open the curtains and let some light in. 

“Catra how can you sleep in a wet be-” 

* * *

“Glimmer.” 

“I know.” 

* * * 

Adora rushed towards the bed, gently removing the sheets that stuck to Catra, their white stained with crimson red. 

“Hey, hey Catra? Catra talk- talk to me.” Adora was sobbing, her hands shaking against the material of Catra’s shirt, a gaping slit oozing of fresh blood spilling onto the bed. 

“You’re going to be okay. Yo-you have to be.” 

The blonde trailed her eyes down the mutilated body, her mind unable to wrap itself around why or how this was happening. Catra wasn’t dying. No, no this was a dream. A nightmare. It wasn’t real. 

“Ca- Catra,” heavy sobs shook her entire body, tears running freely down her cheeks and falling into the wounds, both liquids mixing. “This is a dream. This is a dream. Catra please, please tell me this is a dream.” 

She brought the frail, now lifeless body and pressed it against her own refusing to let go. _This...this is all just a bad dream. I’ll wake up soon. I’ll wake up soon_. 

_I’ll wake up soon_. 

* * * 

“It’s right there. Just-just press it and it’ll self-destruct.” 

Bow took a shaky breath through his nose, nausea forcing his mouth closed. He pressed the button. 

* * * 

Adora was falling again. It was the same abyss as before, that much she could tell. However, instead of the fall feeling welcoming and warm, all she felt was emptiness. Sorrow. Anger. 

She was angry. 

She was...nothing. 

______________________

Adora was on her knees when the light forced her eyes open. Small rocks and twigs pressed against her knees, surely leaving red marks on her skin under the fabric of her pants. She felt a small gust of wind blow her hair out of her eyes and she smelled it again. The copper. And then she felt it again. The body. The sword stuck right under the lungs, lodged firmly into the ground.

Adora tentatively looked down on Catra’s unmoving form, her hand gently pushing the other girl’s cheek closer to her. She caught the sliver of a golden eye. 

“Now you wanna hug me, huh princess?” Catra choked, droplets of blood trickling down her chin. 

“Catra…Catra, I’m here.It’s okay.” Adora moved her own body closer, cradling Catra more selfishly than she had ever allowed herself to. 

Ragged, weak breaths came out of the Force Captain’s mouth in small puffs. In this life, her body was warmer, more solid. More broken. Each time her chest lifted pathetically to draw in more oxygen, a faint sound of metal grating on bone could be heard, echoing through the empty clearing. Adora could see how much Catra wanted to scream and howl in agony, but the limpness of her limbs was enough to describe just how much energy the brunette had left in her. Close to none. 

“I only- I only wanted you back. Why would you do thi- do this to me?” Catra was coughing up her blood, struggling to get the words out. 

Opening both her eyes, Catra stared intensely into Adora’s blue ones. The latter, still as stone, looked on as the small glint of mischief faded into a wave of betrayal, far worse than the one she had seen the day she walked away from the Horde. The mismatched eyes filled with tears, one rolling down her cheek, mixing with the dirt that had stuck there. Adora watched it fall on the sleeve of her jacket. 

“I…I asked you to- to stop,” Catra muttered, the ghost of smile touching her lips in sadness so deeply evident Adora chocked on her own breath, refusing to look into her eyes, too afraid to find what she already knew was there. 

When the leaves and bushes rustled to her left, Adora had paid no mind to who it might have been. Catra. Catra wasn’t breathing anymore.The blue and yellow of her irides accentuating nothing but the absence of life. Adora had failed. 

She closed her eyes tightly, wondering again and again and again what had gone wrong. She was fine one moment until she was not. Until she got trapped inside some kind of...of mind trick. Looking over to the hilt of the sword, she noticed the dead, red vines. Noticed the red piece of tech, now busted, dangling.

She brushed Catra’s hair away from her forehead, the kiss tasting of salt and death. Getting up to meet whomever had walked to her, she positioned herself into a fighting stance, despite the weight her bones boring down on her. 

“It’s just us Adora.” 

Bow and Glimmer were a few feet away, unsure of what to do. Adora sighed and sat back down, her focus back on Catra’s lifeless body. 

“I did this,” she whispered, her voice carrying no trace of emotion. “I- I did something wrong. I- someone set me up and I didn’t notice it and now- now Catra’s-”  
Bow looked at Glimmer, guilt written all over his face and body language. He hadn’t thrown the remote away. Adora spoke up again. 

“I need to...I need to bury her.” 

She stood up again, steeling herself. Wrapping her fingers around the sword of power, she dislodged from the ground, eliciting the sick sound of blade through skin and bones.  
Tossing the bloodied sword away, she bent down, tenderly picking Catra’s body off the ground. 

“Don’t follow me. Don’t look for me either.” 

Bow watched as the blood from Catra’s body dropped down on Adora’s boots. Watched as it left more stains on the ground, watched as more blood spilled on his hand. He clenched his fists and squeezed the object he had in his left hand. Opening it to find the remote, Bow jerked away from it like it had burned his body. 

Glimmer watched Adora until she disappeared through the thick foliage of the Whispering Woods. She hadn’t even looked back. Turning to face Bow, unable to meet his eyes, slowly, she asked him.

“What have we done?”


End file.
